“The heinous events of June 17th, 2015 pushed me over the edge…” so begins Tomás Doncker’s prelude to his exploration of Black America warred upon - The Mess We Made. The date refers to the Charleston Church Massacre; and Tomás Doncker, both memorialized the victims, and documented the villainous act on the far from metaphoric “Church Is Burning Down”. Placed near the beginning of The Mess we Made, any hope to be found in the opening song “Some Ol’ Dolls” is destroyed in a blazing fire of rage and impotence.

The Mess We Made, a 35 minute dash through Black-America and its relationship with the culture, was a self-contained, concentrated analysis of urban life in the middle of the 2010s; a fearless artistic testament that seemed to need nothing in its deliverance of a clear eyed vision of institutionalized racism. Doncker, the CEO of the prolific multi-cultural independent True Groove Records, had made a classic piece of agitprop, a modern day There’s A Riot Going On. So what is left to say?

With the release of Doncker’s Deluxe Version of The Mess We Made (including seven new tracks) there is apparently a lot left to say. Using the Melvin Van Peeble’s iconic/futuristic/soul/ spoken word musical “Ain’t Supposed To Die A Natural Death” as a template, Doncker intends to continue the discussion that Van Peeble’s started. At an early brainstorming session, Van Peeble’s exclaimed to Doncker, “Finally, somebody gets it. Finally, someone will continue to tell the story.” Doncker, who has worked on three musicals in the past year alone, notes: “The Mess We Made Deluxe” is the completion of the first step in what will ultimately be a musical/ theatrical and cinematic presentation of this seemingly never-ending story.